The response was wild: over 170 agencies contacted them requesting to
participate. From
those 170, 104 ended up submitting presentations (which guarantees 103 losers). Essentially, investing time and money––giving their best ideas away for free.

Jul 14, 2009

Had the very good fortune to be in Venice over the weekend and, aside from...

I didn't see a car or hear a honking horn in four days.

I never really found my sea legs on the Vaporetto.

The Italian's have such effortless style. (ClichédI know, but 65-year-old guys in pressed shirts and orange corduroys!)

It's like living in a Canaletto.

...there was some inspired and inspiring art.

The old Customs House on thePunta Della Doganahas been beautifully restored by starchitect Tadao Ando to house the art of French billionaireFrançois Pinault. (Pinault paid for the 18 million Euro refurb himself.)

And, as his holdings include Gucci, Christie’s, and the Château Latour vineyard, one could expect impeccable taste. One wasn't disappointed.

Curators Alison M. Gingeras and Francesco Bonami were allowed to select any piece from his extensive collection (only one third is on display) with the simple brief: "Surprise me...and the public."

Says Jackson: "Though the skeleton is dead, it is strong and walks upright. Its hands seem capable of movement, gesture and construction. The skull, though made of poisonous lead, surmounts the golden geodesic rib cage. The dymaxion skeleton presents a utopia of being: the utopia of the body as a vehicle for consciousness."

Jul 10, 2009

In the 1920's, Volney Phifer was Hollywood's premier animal trainer and his most successful protégé was Leo, the MGM lion, who Volney taught to roar on cue.

The original logo was designed by Howard Dietz and used by the Goldwyn Pictures Studio studio from 1916 to 1924; since then there have been around five different lions used for the iconic logo.

Jackie (above) was the first lion whose roar was heard by audiences of the silent film era, via a gramophone record. She first growled softly; this was followed by a louder growl, a brief pause, and then a final growl, before looking off to one side.

And therein lies the strength of an enduring logo: I can hear her roar right now...as I know you can.